Canadian Grand Prix | Max Verstappen (Red Bull) wins and equals Ayrton Senna

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) goes a little further into history. Although he did not dominate the race as outrageously as usual, the reigning double world champion still won in Canada on Sunday at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, ahead of Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin ) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). This 41st success in Formula 1 makes the Batavian the equal of Ayrton Senna. Alain Prost (51), Sebastian Vettel (53), Michael Schumacher (91) and Hamilton (103) still look down on him. For how long ?

We finally witnessed a tightly contested race! Needless to spare a non-existent suspense: Verstappen kept the lead of the Canadian Grand Prix from its good start to the checkered flag. However, the Dutchman has never taken off like in Barcelona two weeks ago, where he won 24 seconds ahead of his nearest pursuer. In Montreal, on a green track washed by torrential rains, he was content with a mattress of 9 seconds which proved to be more than enough to live a sixth victory in 2023 serenely and offer a 100th success to his team.

From the top of his two world titles, Verstappen has already inscribed his name in the history of the discipline. He marked it a little more this Sunday by joining a legend, Ayrton Senna, in the number of career victories (41). How long will it take to pick up Alain Prost (51)? Given the amazing shape of the RB19 and the ease at the wheel of the Batave, the Frenchman can tremble!

Hamilton still on the podium

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), he can see it coming. The Briton has 103 successes and, if he has not won for almost 2 years, the seven-time world champion has 62 victories ahead of his young rival. Failing to compete for the first position, the native of Stevenange is fighting for the podiums. It is clear that the improvements made to his W14 help him greatly in this quest. Since Monaco, Hamilton monopolizes the top positions and settled in third place behind another champion, Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin). The old veterans animated the race, Alonso recovering his second position on the 22nd lap thanks to a nice maneuver inside.

Ferrari also signaled itself positively by adopting the right strategy. The whole grid took advantage of the exit of the safety car following the shock of George Russell (Mercedes) to pass tough. All the pilots, except those of the transalpine team. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) opted for a staggered one-stop strategy, performed on lap 38 for the Spaniard and a loop later for the Monegasque. Starting 10th and 11th, they gained 6 positions each and failed at the foot of the podium.

Less in spirit for several races, Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) took off from too far on the grid (P12) to return to the forefront despite his 6th place finish. At the wheel of a supersonic FW45 in a straight line, Alexander Albon withstood the incessant attacks of Esteban Ocon (Alpine) to grab 7th place. He hadn’t finished this high for almost 3 years and the end of the 2020 season.

The other French driver on the grid, Pierre Gasly (Alpine), had to settle for 12th place. The Norman gained a position thanks to the 5-second penalty for an unsportsmanlike maneuver imposed on Lando Norris (McLaren), ultimately 13th. Verstappen (Red Bull) flies in the standings. 15 days from the return of F1 to Europe, he is 69 points ahead of Pérez (Red Bull) and 78 over Alonso (Aston Martin).